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Also known as: New Brunswick cedar, Thuja occidentalis, eastern arborvitae, eastern white cedar, northern white cedar, white cedar
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
American arborvitae
Category: Animals & Nature
- Also called:
- eastern arborvitae, or northern white cedar
- Related Topics:
- arborvitae
- white cedar
American arborvitae, (Thuja occidentalis), ornamental and timber evergreen conifer of the cypress family (Cupressaceae), native to eastern North America. In the lumber trade it is called, among other names, white cedar, eastern white cedar, and New Brunswick cedar.
Often 20 m (65 feet) tall, the tree is the most common and probably the hardiest of the arborvitae. Its trunk is sometimes forked near the ground into several main stems covered with reddish brown bark. The cones have 8 to 10 scales, of which only four are usually fertile. Most cultivated varieties are narrow, densely pyramidal shrubs, and many have interesting variations in foliage colour. See also arborvitae.
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Trees: Giants Holding the Sky
This article was most recently revised and updated by Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer.
